Despite Friendship, Filho and Silva Could Fight

Even before Paulo Filho competed for World Extreme Cagefighting, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva stated that he would not fight him because of their long-standing friendship.

At the time, it was a blow to all those that wanted to see the fight happen. However times have changed. The reality is that neither fighter has a decent amount of viable contenders left in their respective divisions. With the WEC all but set to merge some of it’s weight classes into the UFC next year, one has to assume that Filho and Silva would eventually be forced to clash.

According to Ed Soares, the cult-favorite manager of both fighters, it could happen:

“If that’s the fight that the world wants to see, then I guess we’re going to have to sit back and talk about it,” Soares told MMA Weekly. “I think that’s going to be a hard one to get across to both sides.”

“They’re friends, they’ve been together,” Soares continued. “But at the end of the day, it’s a business, and sometimes you’ve gotta go in there, and you shake hands. They’ve been on each other for free in training. I can just tell you that it would really have to be something that makes sense for both guys.”

Soares also went on to say that he has spoken to UFC and WEC officials about the potential matchup, most likely in a capacity that would see Filho unify his WEC middleweight belt with Silva’s UFC title. That’s if Filho gets past Chael Sonnen on Sept. 10.